[gilghana]

Now the roof tent. So first the biggest cardboard package I have ever received!



Package opened and the roof tent popped open in the middle of the living room. Very cool piece of kit - gas struts and a very simple mounting system to bolt onto roof bars. Built in National Luna strip light. Ahhh, the damn thing is great! We were so excited we were thinking of sleeping in the tent in the living room tonight, but decided better the bush first!

Now, we have a Hannibal conventional roof tent (which is going to be getting shipped to my folks now) which we love, but this just takes thing to a whole new level of speed and ease. If you have ever packed up folding rooftents on the 1st of January under a desert sun - late morning - after far too much red wine then you will know EXACTLY what I mean...





So the plan is to use the winch on the 105 and a tree to make for some easy roof tent mounting tomorrow! Can't wait and should make for some good photos.
Gil

[Phil in BC]

Nice toys Gil. If you dont mind me asking, what did you pay for the tent and drawers? I would like to get a tent like that to mount on my BJ74 for next summer. First I have to finish the exo-cage/roof rack to mount it to, but with winter now here I have plenty of time for that project. Nice stuff and thanks for the pics.

Phil

[gilghana]

Hi Phil,
Once had a great Pizza in Kamloops! I paid €1,300 for the drawers and the tent. Not bad considering that in Germany a Maggiolina Columbus (of which the Hannibal Impi is pretty much a direct copy) was going to cost me €1,600. If you are interested in buying from ZA I did it through a friend, but Frontrunner (ZA manufacturer of stuff and able to procure things also) we found to be really helpful. You could also contact 4x4 Megaworld also of South Africa. The exchange rate issue really helps.

[gilghana]

Well, we are supposed to be moving into the dry season in West Africa, but murphy's law dictates that when you want to fit a rooftent on a Saturday afternoon it lashes down. Rain here is like a shower - really, really hard tropical rain. Anyway I decided to go for it. I positioned the 105 so that with the help of a tree and a snatch block I could use the winch as a hoist. This really helped a lot.

So, old one comes off:



The mountings for the hannibal Impi are simplicity itself - some aluminium tracks are on the bottom of the tent, into which you slide 4 pieces of flat bar each with two bolts welded. You then tighten down a small piece of drilled flat bar on each of the four mounts, effectively clamping the roof bars.

What I really like is that the tent is relatively narrow - 1.3m. This means that unlike some others it doesn't overhang the sides of the vehicle.



I will get some pictures of it opened out tomorrow as well as the interior. Darkness and rain stopped anything else this evening. Raining so hard now we can't even think about trying it - just getting bedding from house to car it would be soaked! In front of the tent is going to go a solar panel replacing the old bit of plywood I had up there before.

[roscoFJ73]

Is it that heavy Gil? I thought 2 people could have lifted it into position quite easily.
Im still considering getting a Hannibal camper myself. A new shipment arrived in oz a few weeks back

[gilghana]

Well, two big (tall) guys could easily lift it on - 60kgs - but to leave the bars on I would have had to open out the folding tent - and it was lashing! And my assistants were a couple of watchmen who are short (like a lot of Ghanaians) and tend to be a bit shaky - they are mostly pensioners! So the easy route - and more fun/better pictures - was to go the garden hoist route. Unfortunately have not even had the chance to get it open in daylight yet... but initial impressions are that it really is the biz, and this ZA Rand rate made it. As I say the width is great and the fibreglass seems damn tough. In built national luna strip light is cool but connections are Hella type so hard wiring will be done - Hella plugs are unheard of here. Reckon it would be very fine on your alu demountable camper.
Gil

[roscoFJ73]

Originally Posted by gilghana

. Reckon it would be very fine on your alu demountable camper.
Gil

Dont make me do it,Dont!PLEASE !!

[gilghana]

Well, first dry afternoon here for over a week, enabled me to pop the tent for a view of it up:

[gilghana]

So then onto the African Outback Drawer System. Damn heavy stuff it is. The installation was fairly straightforward, although I did change the installation slightly. Instead of drilling the floor I utilised some VERY strong mounts which originally lock the side bench seats to the floor. The drawer system is not full length (originally designed for a troopy 'RV') as I wanted to maintain the possibility in future for a small second row bench seat. Immediately in front of the drawers are going to be the two batteries, and immediately in front of them is going a full height Milford cargo barrier for two good reasons:
1) You can then pack up bags etc on top of the drawers
2) I do not want a fridge behind our heads with nothing holding it down other than the usual straps or turnbuckles...

Basic drawer installation is completed, tomorrow afternoon will tackle properly bolting down the top covers etc.










The right hand cover is actually the fridge slide, also running on roller bearings like the drawers. The system is really well designed, with stoppers that stop the drawers coming out and act as anti-rattle devices when the drawers are closed. The drawers lock too.

[gilghana]

Drawers were finished off this evening, what was quite surprising was that as I increased the size of the side panels (with my custom marine ply ) slightly it meant the drawers are quite a tight fit... Trimming back some of the edges makes it all nice and tight but still able to open the fridge slide.
Next up is mounting the fridge to the slide. To this end I have "sourced" some Toyota tie down eyes (i.e. unbolted them from the rear of the company 105). Couldn't find anything else lying around... Will lock down the fridge with some turnbuckles. Only thing is that the fridge is going to be pretty damn high of the ground - so I am thinking of some sort of folding step that goes into the receiver on the rear bumper. Wouldn't want to be sorting my cheese and beer by touch alone! After that is the wiring - that should occupy a good few hours.
Oh yeah, also got a 70 series red turbo emblem on order with my local toyo guy... That has to be done I reckon. Will get some pics up soon,
thanks for the interest folks,
Gil

[soenke]

Hi Gil, very nice (and heavy..)

there would be plenty of space behind your sidepanels too....we just covered the metall inside the fenders with neopren and made about 15 x 30 cm holes at the upper end of each side panel for access...had spares and stuff like that stored there...

[fortysixandtwo]

Awesome build. You have my dream Toyota right there. Exactly what I want to do to it to!! Alas I am stuck in the USA where I am left to drool over everyone elses cool Toyotas around the world. Anyway I love how this is turning out. Keep up the good work.

[gilghana]

Originally Posted by soenke

Hi Gil, very nice (and heavy..)

there would be plenty of space behind your sidepanels too....we just covered the metall inside the fenders with neopren and made about 15 x 30 cm holes at the upper end of each side panel for access...had spares and stuff like that stored there...

Thanks, good tip on the neoprene. I originally had planned marine hatches into the panels. Got the hatches but they are slightly too large... Will have to see if I can modify a bit. Nothing much happening at the moment with work really getting in the way.

Glad you like it fortysixandtwo!

[landcruisers4ever]

awesome build, keep up the great work

[Gib009]

great tourer you have there. And i agree about the roof top tent installation much more fun/entertaining using the winch to get it up there!

[gilghana]

Well,
thanks for the words of encouragement folks! So just before Christmas DHL delivered me a parcel from UK containing some very cool LED caravan awning lights that I bought off fleebay... My idea was to supplement the crappy rear interior light and rig one up to illuminate the rear door where a drop down table is going to go. When I ripped the innards out of the carravan lights they were perfect - 50cm long by 1cm wide with 30 LEDs and fully waterproof.

But first was to finish off the fridge installation:



Very pleased with the installation, solidly mounted to the slide with big spreader plates and large turnbuckles, and the great thing is that it is not as high as I feared - both of us can flip the lid and see inside without too much stretching.



Then I wired in one of the LEDs to the rear interior light (just removed the festoon bulb) so it works off the door - what a difference!



Then I wired in my two batteries - but the complete wiring is a LOT more work - but I am impressed with their performance. I have had the fridge running since Christmas morning, set on minus 15. When I hooked it all up I was on 80% SoC and when I turned it off today at 6pm (27th) it is on 58%. Not bad considering ambient is about 32 Celsius.



Here is the rear door table LED in operation:



These are the marine hatches that I will try to cut down to fit in the rear panels:



So next steps will be to finish off the wiring with compressor installation, extra 12v sockets, solar panel on the roof, wire in rear flood light to the aux batteries, get the battery monitor in the cab and fit in some circuit breakers. Then I will box in the batteries with carpet covered custom ply and fit the cargo barrier. After that it is going to be minor tidying jobs and not much else... well that is maybe "famous last words" - there is ALWAYS something more to do,
Gil

[lostworldexpedition]

Sweet set up. Just wanted to let you know I subscribed to this thread.

Keep 'em coming. Thank you...

[sdtash]

Hey, I like your build thread. The troopy makes a fantastic base for a offroad tourer. The rig is coming along nicely. Would like to see some photos form you when its finished. All the best.

[gilghana]

Shane and LW - thanks! Don't worry I will keep this thread going until it gets stuffed in a container to Namibia... And I will keep it going then too! Thanks for subscribing.

So this afternoon I fitted the rear door table - luckily I still got plenty of my custom made Mahogany (Khaya Ivorensis with WBP glue) marine ply left. My GF cut them out - a mere 20 mins with a small vertical bandsaw and a belt sander... She has a lot of cool tools in the carving workshop she runs here in the company. Then I got busy with the self-tappers and some stainless steel wire.



To hold it closed I just rigged a short section of the SS wire with a couple of cable lugs crimped on and a bolt to latch the cable lugged wire over - simple and effective.



This coming week I hope to get a few more bits and pieces done and maybe take off for a couple of days "sea trials" of the tent... so hopefully get a few pictures of rainforest camping for you guys,
Gil

[Coyote808]

Turning into a wonderful looking rig. I don't like the looks of the troopy, but man are they such practical vehicles, especially for just what you're making it to do. Should turn out to be a wonderful camping rig for you and the princess. By the way, how much does your mahogany cost? Just playin' mate, I've got some koa trees I've been eying to turn into... something. Don't quite know just yet. Just waiting for my 2F's head to come back from the shop and get the FJ60 up and running again before I start work. Hopefully it'll be half as well lain out as yours.

[rideglobally]

thanks gil for sharing, also thank for the help on my build. especially your comments on the suspension. when i get further along i have many other questions.

thanks again

[gilghana]

Cheers guys! Yeah, you're right coyote - the troopys are not pretty, but they do have a certain functional attraction, and as you say they make damn fine vehicles for a purpose. The mahogany I would dread to think what it cost - I took a small log, put it in a steam pit for three days... peeled it, clipped down to size, dried, clipped again after drying shrinkage, laid it up in an unusual size (8mm), ran the sheets through the glue spreader, then assembled the panels in a big (massive) steam heated hydraulic press... ran through a panel saw then big calibrating sander. We only got about one cubic meter (it was a small log, very small) and was produced only for the troopy job - which is only 2 sheets! So cost ????? a shed load! But for me it was free - just don't tell my board of directors. Mind you in this economic climate it's not like our mill was fully busy. Believe there will be some similar nice tropical timber in Hawaii

Have a great 2009 everyone and thanks for watching my thread. I should point out that this thread really belongs in the expo section, but I always thought that I would put it here 'cause there is such a dedicated, helpful bunch of 70 fans,
Gil

[Coyote808]

Not much left in the way of good tropical timber here. All we got now are some small (read, endangered) Sandalwood tree growth and plenty of Koa (read, really damn expensive) that are native trees. The rest are some form of Koala food eucalyptus or pine and evergreens. And timber is really expensive here, explains why stucco, reinforced concrete, and steel are such popular building materials here. Sad when it's cheaper to import Japanese steel and machine/press/stamp them at local shops than it is to bring in American hardwoods. :( Oh well, these two Koa trees I've been eying are on my uncle's land, and he wants to turn them into something, and we don't know what yet. Happy new year folks, be safe, and we are now one year closer to 100% legal imports of J7 series trucks to the USA!

[roscoFJ73]

Hi Gil
Do have any rear of frontal shots of the camper fitted? I want to see how wide it is compared to the body.
An overall width and length measurement would be great

[gilghana]

Here you go:
Width is basically 130cm and length is 215cm - these are not spot on, but quickly taken with a tape... So good enough I hope.

[roscoFJ73]

Originally Posted by gilghana

Here you go:
Width is basically 130cm and length is 215cm - these are not spot on, but quickly taken with a tape... So good enough I hope.

Perfect Looks like they were made for a 7* series
Thanks

[Coyote808]

I can see Rosco's rusty gears turnin' up there, gil. You gave him another idea and excuse to spend money on his Cruiser! Not that he needed anymore.

/end off topic

As for the tent up top, it seems a bit small at 1.3 m x 2.15 m, I personally don't like being crammed into small 4 foot wide spaces though, and 1.3 m is roughly that, but I guess it's not that bad really. How tall is the thing when you prop it up?

[lulo]

Thanks for the all pics...


Nice 78-Troophy... AMAZING!

[JuanJ]

the troopys are not pretty, but they do have a certain functional attraction, and as you say they make damn fine vehicles for a purpose.

Hello Gil,

Troopies may not look pretty but they are so functional and allow for a lot of modifications. At least much more than the short- or midwheel base models. There is a lot more room.

I am really enjoying this thread, and a couple of ideas have occurred to me while reading. Keep writing please.

Sort of dumb question: wat is the model of your transmission? Just out of curiosity.

Last but not least, enjoy your Troopy.





JuanJ

[gilghana]

Thanks!
The gearbox is the R151 box... Not Toyota's strongest
But on the other hand I tend not to abuse it too much - for a trail / more extreme vehicle it would be a different issue. In our company we have +10 vehicles with R151 boxes - so far the two pickups doing very heavy duty stuff have both had gearbox problems, but on the other hand we have several 105s with 250,00kms on them with zero g/box problems so use is a major issue IMHO.

Re Coyote's question about how high the tent opens/roominess etc, well Saturday we finally got an overnight camp to test it out. It opens HIGH - higher than our old conventional folder. The exact height I don't know but if you check these pictures you will see it's height compared to the troopy which is a tall vehicle! Space inside is not a problem at all - for two normal sized people... Okay John Candy would be having a problem. The interior light is a great thing - I wired it to a 12v plug that is next to the fridge, so tent erection consists of:
- stand on rear bumper and undo two catches and flip tent up, then reach in and grab plug and put into socket
- remove ladder from inside the tent and slide into the rail. Finished! Soooo simple.

Negative points:
- So far I have only identified one. The tent is held up by two gas struts (gabriel IIRC) which have a lower metal section covering the rod (like the top boot or metal cover on a shock absorber). These have some sort of really crap finish on them and mine corroded simply from the inside of the tent being a little bit damp. Rusted really badly - absolute junk. Okay it is just a matter of removing them, wire brushing and properly painting.

I intend to get a small 12v fan mounted in the ceiling of the tent next to the light to help with tropical conditions.

Otherwise very happy with it. The ease of put up/down is a real improvement over the folding types. And I would rather trade a bit of interior tent width than having a big overhang - as Rossco has pointed out, from the dimensions they look like they were made with a 70 series in mind.

These pics were taken just after dawn in the rainforest. Wasn't proper camping - we only went closeby just to test the tent and fold down table & LEDs - all good so far.